Admittedly my paranoia is at an all-time high – I am suffering from jet lag. Last week I attended a conference at the University of New South Wales where academics and legal practitioners discussed the potential seepage of counter-terrorism measures into the "ordinary" law. We heard papers about draconian legislation in South Australia and New South Wales targeting organised crime "bikie gangs". Upon my return, I discovered that Ireland was set to enact a criminal justice bill which includes some alarming provisions aimed at so-called "organised criminal gangs".

Now I understand that civil libertarians can seem to be in a permanent state of alert regarding some perceived threat to our freedoms, but I am not generally prone to panic. I believe in trusting the executive within the confines of a rigorous parliamentary system.

I have previously written about the acceptability of interfering with the right to trial by jury so long as the trial process remains fair and I believe in allowing government the freedom to act against any and all threats so long as they respect our core civil liberties: the right to freedom of expression; freedom of association; and liberty.

So I acknowledge that, title aside, Extending Our Reach does not appear overly worrying. Predominately the report focuses on the re-organisation of government responses to organised crime: it talks of better communication between departments and overseas agencies and more intensive management of organised criminals within prison. I have some reservations about the proposed use of administrative powers to deal with a criminal problem but overall the report seems balanced.

My concerns stem from a sense that this report and the actions of governments in Ireland and Australia are part of a wider attempt to create a new demon, "organised crime".

Section 72 of the Irish criminal justice (amendment) bill, which which is currently passing through both Houses of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament), creates an offence where a "person participates in or contributes to any activity (whether constituting an offence or not)" in support of an organised criminal gang. There is, perhaps, some rationale for such an offence but the situations envisaged could almost certainly be covered by charges of conspiracy or aiding and abetting within the scope of the existing law.

Furthermore, the Irish Offences Against the State Act, 1939, already allows for non-jury trial, extended periods of detention and other police powers which can be utilised "when the ordinary courts are inadequate" and these powers have been frequently used in "black-market" and organised crime cases.

Witness and jury intimidation by criminal gangs in Ireland has been a problem but the bill is an unnecessary overreaction.

The problem of "bikie gangs" in Australia should not be underestimated. These gangs have Hollywood-sounding names but they have engaged in serious criminal activity – including a fatal fight at Sydney airport. The New South Wales Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act was rushed through parliament in a day and provides for control orders and other severe restrictions on liberty. The haste with which the legislation was passed is notable because it has not yet been used. Begging the question: why pass it in the first place?

The UK government has published Extending Our Reach. It is our responsibility to ensure that the legislative response to organised crime is not a creeping extension of counter-terrorism laws.